The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey - Hardcover

"Rinker Buck has a gift most writers would kill for--when he sets out on an adventure, in this case a 2,000-mile covered wagon trip across the West, he takes you with him. Buck's lean prose, historical insight, and penetrating curiosity elevate "The Oregon Trail" into an instant classic that deserves a place on your bookshelf between Bryson and Horwitz. A master storyteller and dogged reporter, Buck gives substance to an unrelenting wanderlust that is the envy of anyone who has ever dreamed of lighting out for the territories." --Bob Drury, coauthor of "The Heart of Everything That Is"

Praise for Flight of Passage:
"This is a funny, cocky gem of a book." "--The New Yorker"

"A terrific book . . . Huckleberry Finn meets The Spirit of St. Louis." --Henry Kisor, "The Chicago Sun-Times"

"My favorite book of the year . . . It reaches beyond its personal story to deal with the terrible beauty of families and with the larger world."" --"Bob Minzenheimer, "USA Today"

"Rinker Buck's "Flight of Passage" is an utterly captivating true-adventure tale and at the same time a winsomely told memoir of a teenager coming to terms with members of his family. I found it absolutely irresistible." --John Berendt

"This is more than a flying adventure--it is also a warm, affectionate account of an unusual family, with characters presented as if they were created by a master novelist." --Jack Elliot, "The Newark Star-Ledger"

"An entertaining and enlightening account of one of America's most legendary migrations. Even readers who don't know a horse from a mule will find themselves swept up in this inspiring and masterful tale of perseverance and the pioneer spirit."
--Publishers Weekly"

"This smart, endearing book is not just about a picaresque and probably ill-advised adventure; it's a story about "us"--who we are and how we came to be that way. As he makes his two thousand-mile pilgrimage by cussed mule across the dusty continent, Rinker Buck finds his way deep into our nation's DNA."
--Hampton Sides, author of "Blood and Thunder" and "Americana"

"How lucky we are that Rinker Buck and his brother, as stubborn and endearing as the mules they drove, undertook this patently imprudent journey--so the rest of us could sit in our easy chairs and tag along for the wild and woolly ride. Along the way we learn a little about mule breeders, tongue relievers, cholera, cattle guards, and littering, 1850s style--and a lot about the enduring essence of the pioneer spirit. Part Laura Ingalls Wilder, part Jack Kerouac, "The Oregon Trail" is an idiosyncratic and irresistible addition to the canon of American road-trip literature."
--George Howe Colt, National Book Award finalist for "The Big House"

"Buck's lean prose, historical insight, and penetrating curiosity elevate "The Oregon Trail" into an instant classic that deserves a place on your bookshelf between Bryson and Horwitz. A master storyteller and dogged reporter, Buck gives substance to an unrelenting wanderlust that is the envy of anyone who has ever dreamed of lighting out for the territories."
--Bob Drury, coauthor of "The Heart of Everything That Is"

Rinker Buck began his career in journalism at the Berkshire Eagle and was a longtime staff writer for the Hartford Courant. He has written for Vanity Fair, New York, Life, and many other publications, and his work has won PEN New England Award, the Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award. He is the author of The Oregon Trail as well as the acclaimed memoirs Flight of Passage and First Job. He lives in northwest Connecticut.